The present invention relates to a method of and an apparatus for attracting and conveying conveyable objects, the construction of which method and apparatus is simple and makes it unnecessary to turn a suction source on and off or to use an on-off valve, and by which a conveyable object conveyed can be released instantaneously from suction retention.
The present invention also relates to a checking process and system in an eating establishment for automatically checking, i. e., automatically determining a total charge to a guest for the merchandise item dishes the guest consumed, advantageously by using a conveyable object attracting and conveying apparatus as described.
So far in conveying a conveyable object, it has been known to use a technique in which the object is first attracted by suction at a conveying start side, then conveyed while held attracted by suction and finally detached by releasing it from suction retention at a conveying destination site. To do this, it has been customary to make use of what is commonly called a conveyer arm that carries a suction means to which a suction force produced by a suction or vacuum source is transmitted.
To selectively turn on and off the suction force at the suction means, one known method employs an arrangement in which the conveyer arm is associated with an air cylinder whose operation is controlled by an electromagnetic valve to displace the attractor means vertically or horizontally relative to the conveyer arm to make suction selectively active and inactive at the attractor means. Another known technique has adopted an on-off valve disposed between the attractor means and a vacuum pump and operable to selectively connect to and disconnect from the vacuum source the attractor means. In a further known arrangement a vacuum source or pump is directly switched on and off so that a suction force selectively develops and disappears at the attractor means.
It has been recognized that all these known techniques and arrangements make it unavoidable to entail relatively complex mechanisms and necessitate a large number of component parts; hence the equipment becomes unavoidably large sized and costly.
It has also be found that in removing a suction force at the attractor means the use of an on-off valve or a circuit to switch a suction produced at the vacuum source fails to reduce pressure at the attractor means to an atmospheric level or the suction force thereat to zero instantaneously. Thus, a conveyed object becomes unable to detach from the attractor means without delay or failure upon its arrival at its site of conveyance destination.
Further, the lack of any active means to forcively detach automatically in these prior systems has been found to make detachment uncertain.
As regards the subject of an eating establishment, for example, especially in those with a rotary catering table system installed therein having a crescent chain conveyer (i.e., a looped chain of serially connected crescent shaped plates) disposed in a top area of a base stand for conveying servable merchandise food items around a loop, it has been customary that servable merchandise items which are typically xe2x80x9csushixe2x80x9d (vinegared rice with fish or vegetables in the form of rolls, slices, oval-shaped and others) items as loaded or placed on merchandise food items plates are offered to guests. Merchandise item plates are provided with colors designed to identify servable merchandise items to be loaded or placed thereon. In checking, i.g., determining a charge to a guest, a service worker in the shop or restaurant confirms the merchandise items that the guest consumed by the colors of the emptied merchandise item plates and in person computes with a cash register the charge which is submitted to the guest and the guest then pays for at the cashier.
In confirming the colors and computing a charge, the service worker must deal with a large number of emptied or consumed merchandise item plates piled up on the table or counter for each of the guests who are leaving. As a result, checking becomes time consuming, requiring the guests to be kept waiting for long at the cashier.
In such shops or restaurants, it has in the recent times become an increased practice to use disposable, paper made tableware such as paper plates in order to reduce expenses including labor costs, the cost of equipment and expenses for water and energy that incur, inter alia in washing tableware for reuse.
Such throwaway tableware such as paper plates are lighter in weight than ordinary plastic made merchandise item plates and when disposed of as a garbage in a trash or the like tend to overlay each other to produce a complicated and voluminous mass or masses in it. They must be compressed by the worker""s hands and feet to reduce their volumes and to leave the trash enough open and easier to accept a next garbage.
There have been strong demands in the restaurant or food dispensing business for a technique that enables a checking operation in a restaurant or eating house to be accomplished instantaneously both to the advantages of the restaurant or house and guests or customers and which facilitates collecting and/or disposing guests"" emptied or consumed merchandise item plates to the advantages of service workers in the eating establishment.
It is accordingly an important object of the present invention to provide a method, apparatus, and system that meet with a these demands and that overcome the above mentioned problems met in the prior art.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of attracting and conveying a conveyable object that enables an conveyed object held attracted to be released instantaneously.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a conveyable object attracting and conveying apparatus that is simpler in structure, more compact and less costly than the existing apparatus.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a process of and a system for checking in an eating establishment which permits a checking operation by a service worker for a guest or customer to be accomplished instantaneously and yet facilitating collection or disposition of consumed merchandise item plates.
In order to achieve the objects mentioned above there is provided in accordance with the present invention in a first aspect thereof a method of attracting a conveyable object by suction to an attractor means and conveying the so attached conveyable object by a conveyer arm, which method comprises the steps of: moving the conveyer arm towards an object conveying start side while guiding downwards with a guide cam disposed towards the object conveying start side, a cam roller attached to an front side surface of an external cylinder biased with a biasing means to assume an upper limit position thereof and thereby causing the external cylinder to descend together with an internal cylinder disposed in the external cylinder and biased upwards with a biasing means; in the object conveying start side, attracting a conveyable object by suction to the attractor means of an attractor plate disposed at a lower end of the internal cylinder, the attractor means providing a suction force sufficient to attract the conveyable object thereto by being then in suction communication with a suction source via the attractor plate, a head plate attached to a lower end of the external cylinder, and a suction hose means connecting to the suctions source; and thereafter moving the conveyer arm towards an object conveying destination side while guiding downwards with a release guide cam disposed towards the object conveying destination side, a release roller attached to a rear side surface of the internal cylinder as movable on a rear side surface of the external cylinder and thereby causing the attractor plate having the attractor means to descend to separate, in the object conveying destination side, the attractor plate from the head plate, thereby removing the suction force provided by the attractor means and releasing the conveyed object from suction retention.
Preferably, the method further comprises the steps of providing a release bar that is axially supported to normally extend essentially horizontally with its base and mid portions lying on a plane below the rear surface of the attractor plate and at positions corresponding to one end and midway of the rear surface of the attractor plate in the direction of its width, the release bar having its free end portion extending from the other end of the rear surface of the attractor plate in the direction of its width; and causing the release bar to turn on a mid point, as fulcrum, of the plane below the rear surface of the attractor plate to cause said free end portion to hit on the conveyed conveyable object being detached, thereby aiding its detachment from the attractor means, thus to ensure an instantaneous release of its retention by suction to the attractor means.
The present invention also provides in a second aspect thereof an apparatus for attracting a conveyable object by suction to an attractor means and conveying the so attached conveyable object by a conveyer arm, which apparatus comprises: a conveyer arm for conveying a conveyable object; an external cylinder mounted to the conveyer arm and biased with a biasing means to assume an upper limit position relative to the conveyer arm; a head plate attached to a lower end of the external cylinder, the head plate having fastened thereto a suction hose means connected to a suction source; an internal cylinder disposed in the external cylinder and biased upwards by a biasing means; an attractor plate attached to a lower end of the internal cylinder, the attractor plate having an attractor means fastened thereto; a cam roller attached to a front side surface of the external cylinder; a release roller attached to a rear side surface of the internal cylinder as movable on a rear side surface of the external cylinder; a guide cam disposed towards a conveyable object conveying start side for guiding the cam roller downwards; and a release guide cam disposed towards a conveyable object conveying destination side for guiding the release roller.
Preferably, the apparatus further comprises: a release bar that is axially supported to normally extend essentially horizontally with its base and mid portions lying on a plane below the rear surface of the attractor plate and at positions corresponding to one end and midway of the rear surface of the attractor plate in the direction of its width, the release bar having its free end portion extending from the other end of the rear surface of the attractor plate in the direction of its width, the release bar being adapted to turn on a mid point, as fulcrum, of the plane below the rear surface of the attractor plate to cause said free end portion to hit on the conveyed conveyable object being detached, thereby aiding its detachment from the attractor means, thus to ensure an instantaneous release of its retention by suction to the attractor means.
It can readily be appreciated that an attracting and conveying apparatus according to the present invention permit a conveyed object held attracted to be released instantaneously and provide for an excellent suction retention releasability.
Also, effecting conveyance movement of a conveyer arm and motions to cause the attractor means mechanically by means of biasing means and cam roller and guide cam means renders the apparatus structure extremely simple and the apparatus itself compact to the extent that the cost of installation and its running cost are drastically reduced.
Also, a release bar optionally provided in accordance with the present invention effectively serves to aid its detachment of a conveyed object from the attractor means and thus to ensure an instantaneous release of its retention by suction to the attractor means.
The present invention further provides in a third aspect thereof a checking process in an eating establishment, which process comprises the steps of: a) providing merchandise item plates on surfaces thereof with colors, patterns or colored patterns that identify kinds and /or prices of merchandise items for loading thereon; b) pre-storing in a computer data for the colors, patterns or colored patterns of merchandise item plates in relation to their respective kinds and/or prices; c) loading the merchandise item plates of colors, patterns or colored patterns with merchandise items whose kinds and/or prices are identified by the colors, patterns and colored patterns, thereby offering the merchandise items; for checking by a guest paying a charge for merchandise item plates the guest consumed, d) placing the consumed merchandise item plates one on top of another in a plate conveying start side; e) causing an attractor means carried by a conveyer arm to attract by suction thereto each of the consumed merchandise item plates so placed; f) causing the conveyer arm to convey the consumed merchandise item held attracted and retained by the attractor means from the plate conveying start side towards a plate conveying destination side; g) in the plate conveying destination side, releasing the consumed merchandise item plate conveyed from suction retention by instantaneously removing suction at the attractor means to permit the released merchandise item plate to detach from the attractor means; h) during the steps e), f) and g), causing a sensor to read a color, pattern or colored pattern of the consumed merchandise item plate; i) repeating the steps e) to h) for all the consumed merchandise item plates in the plate conveying start side; and j) in the computer, storing data for the colors, patterns or colored patterns read by the sensor identifying and collating the stored data with the pre-stored data for the colors, patterns and colored patterns of merchandise item plates in relation to their respective kinds and/or prices to determine the number and the charge of the consumed merchandise item plates for each of the kinds and/or prices, and to compute a total charge therefrom.
Preferably, a storage casing is disposed in the plate conveying destination side for accepting the consumed merchandise item plates detaching in the step g) so that they are placed snugly one on top of another in the casing.
The present invention also provides in a fourth aspect thereof a checking system in an eating establishment, which comprises: merchandise item plates provided with colors, patterns or colored patterns that identify merchandise items for loading thereon; an attractor means carried by a conveyer arm for attracting by suction each of the consumed merchandise item plates to permit the conveyer arm to convey the consumed merchandise item plate held retracted by suction to and retained by the attractor means from a plate conveying start site to a plate conveying destination side; a suction removal means associated with the conveyer arm and operable at the plate conveying destination site to instantaneously remove suction to the attractor means to permit the consumed merchandise item plate conveyed to detach from the attractor means and to detach from the attractor means; a sensor means associated with the conveyer arm for sensing the colors, patterns or colored patterns of the merchandise item plates; and a computer for pre-storing data for colors, patterns or colored patterns of merchandise item plates in relation to their respective kinds and/or prices, the computer being associated with the sensor means for storing data for the colors, patterns or colored patterns sensed by the sensor means and collating the stored data with the pre-stored data for colors, patterns or colored patterns of merchandise item plates in relation to their respective kinds and/or prices to compute the number of the consumed merchandise item plates for each of the kinds and/or prices corresponding to the colors, patterns or colored patterns sensed by the sensor means and to determine from such charges a total charge to be billed to the guest.
Preferably, the system further includes a storage casing disposed in the plate conveying destination site for accepting consumed merchandise item plates each conveyed by the conveyer arm and detached from the attractor means in a manner such that the plates are placed snugly one top of another in the storage casing.
It can readily be seen that the checking process and system according to the present invention permit a charge determination and computation and hence a checking to be effected in a moment.
Thus, the process and system also totally eliminate the loads on service workers in an eating establishment to classify and then compute different consumed dishes individually and sharply reduces job requirements entailed in checking in an eating establishment.
Also, providing a storage casing or container in the plate conveying destination side for loading with consumed and conveyed merchandise item plates as placed one on top of another eliminates altogether a service worker""s requirement to dispose consumed merchandise item plates paid for individually. In addition, the ability of the system to allow consumed merchandise item plates to be laid snugly one on top of another in the storage casing enables these consumed plates to be thrown away into a trash or a garbage bag in a sufficiently small volume. It also eliminates altogether the troubles so far met to compress the volume of a garbage of this sort which has hitherto become unnecessarily large when it is disposed or thrown away is thus eliminated altogether. In addition, it serves to reduce total volumes of masses of garbage and to resolve environmental problems.
These and other features, objects and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art from the following detailed description of the preferred forms of embodiment thereof as illustrated in the various drawing Figures.